Chapter 8

Figuring out the current date and time wasn’t very difficult.

It was now 6:12 p.m. on August 13, 2020. Gu Yuhuan had entered the instance at 1:26 p.m. on August 13, 2020. Before answering the questions, she had specifically checked the clock in the living room, so she was certain of the time.

In other words, even though nearly four days had passed inside the instance, only about four hours had passed in reality.

Gu Yuhuan: “But the food on the table has already spoiled…”

Suddenly, she paused: “…It’s the temperature.”

While answering the questions, Gu Yuhuan had been extremely focused mentally, but her body still reacted to the excessive heat. During the period after the air conditioner stopped working, the temperature had risen to an astonishing level. She had nearly become dehydrated.

Gu Yixing: “I was in the car at the time, and I also felt that the temperature was extremely high.”

The food hadn’t spoiled because a long time had passed, but because the temperature had inexplicably skyrocketed.

The flow of time in the real world and the instance world was clearly different. Judging from what they had seen so far, one day spent in the instance world was roughly equivalent to one hour in reality.

Gu Yuhuan: “What exactly is going on?”

Of course, Gu Yixing had no way to answer his sister’s question. Everything was too absurd, yet it had undeniably happened. Who exactly was this “Judge”? What kind of power allowed them to enter such incredibly realistic “instances”? And how widespread was this disaster?

For the time being, no one could provide answers for the siblings.

Gu Yuxing: “As long as we stay alive, we’ll eventually find the answers.”

Gu Yuhuan: “I want to find Ximen.”

A look of disapproval flashed across Gu Yixing’s face, but he did not outright forbid her. In his heart, the safety of his beloved younger sister was the most important thing. It was impossible to know what conditions were like outside right now, and it would be best not to wander around recklessly.

But he also understood his sister well.

“If you want to find him, I won’t stop you. But don’t you feel tired?”

He sighed, “Even though only a little over four hours have passed in the real world, we’ve actually spent four intense days inside the instance. Right now you’re running on pure willpower. You should be close to your limit. It’ll be dark soon, and doing anything at night is inconvenient. Why don’t we eat something and rest for the night? We’ll set off early tomorrow morning to EG Company.”

Gu Yixing couldn’t persuade his sister not to go to EG Company, and Gu Yuhuan knew she couldn’t persuade her brother to let her go alone.

“I know.”

The household water and electricity had both been cut off, and natural gas was unusable as well. The siblings ate some crackers with bottled water. Gu Yixing folded down the sofa in the living room for his sister to sleep on, while he slept on an air mattress.

Gu Yuhuan thought she would have trouble sleeping, but to her surprise, she fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.

On that night in the Bluebeard instance, when Mr. Lover had played the piano for her, she had dreamed of her parents.

The two of them were holding hands and preparing to go out together. Neither carried anything with them; her mother wasn’t even carrying a handbag.

Even in the dream, Gu Yuhuan remembered what had happened in reality.

“Mom, Dad, where are you going? Wait, Brother hasn’t come back yet!”

Mom: “We can’t wait any longer.”

Her dad patted her shoulder, “We won’t be able to look after you anymore. From now on, you and your brother must take care of each other.”

Of course, Gu Yuhuan refused to let them leave. But no matter how much she cried or pleaded, she couldn’t stop them from walking out the door.

When she woke up, she found a patch of her pillow wet with tears.

She had no intention of telling Gu Yixing about the dream.

A dream was likely nothing more than thoughts carried over from the day into the night. Besides, among the people still alive, who wasn’t hanging on by a thread? That last bit of determination could fall apart at any moment.

The truth was that Gu Yuhuan didn’t dare tell her brother.

—Ximen Kang.

When awake, she tried not to think about him. Even while sleeping, she had never dreamed of him.

Yet on the very first night after returning home, he appeared in her dream.

When Ximen Kang was eight years old, his parents died in an accident. His relatives proved to be more trouble than help, so he temporarily stayed with a close friend of his father’s: the Gu family.

Before that, Gu Yuhuan only saw Ximen Kang a few times a year. For some reason, they simply didn’t get along. Whenever they met, they ended up fighting.

After the tragedy, however, Ximen Kang would only listen to Gu Yuhuan’s advice. Under her patient care and encouragement, he gradually recovered from the blow of losing his parents. Though the two constantly bickered and traded insults, their relationship slowly grew closer.

Still, Ximen Kang did not stay with the Gu family for long. He moved out after a year, but the two never drifted apart because of it. They were the same age and attended the same elementary school, the same middle school, and the same high school. Even in college they went to the same university, though they majored in different subjects.

They were childhood sweethearts, and during college they officially became a couple.

In her dream, Gu Yuhuan found herself at a coffee shop outside their neighborhood.

This was where Ximen Kang had confessed his feelings to her.

To be honest, the confession itself hadn’t been romantic at all.

But what could she do? Ximen Kang had grown more handsome with age, becoming increasingly attractive as he got older.

Gu Yuhuan: Fine, fine—I surrender.

The two of them ended up coming to this coffee shop regularly later on.

Ximen Kang was waiting for her at their usual table. When he saw her, he beckoned her over with a stiff expression.

The first thing she noticed was the beauty mark beneath his left eye.

According to folk belief, a man with a “peach blossom mole” in that location was destined to have a turbulent love life, unable to settle down and unable to resist attractive members of the opposite sex.

In reality, however, Ximen Kang was practically a silent, reserved person—except when he was with Gu Yuhuan.

Seeing him now filled her with nothing but happiness.

“You’re okay. I’ll come find you tomorrow.”

Ximen Kang stirred his coffee with a small spoon.

Whenever something was weighing on his mind, he always fidgeted with whatever was in his hands.

“I’m talking to you!”

“Oh…” Ximen Kang replied.

Normally, he would never pass up an opportunity to tease her back, yet now he looked strangely gloomy.

Gu Yuhuan found his behavior odd. Just as she was about to press him for an explanation, she woke up.

The dream hadn’t seemed very long, yet daylight was already flooding the room.

She still felt somewhat exhausted, her body weak and lacking strength. That was when she realized her brother had been right.

She had been forcing herself onward solely through determination because of everything weighing on her mind. In reality, her body was already utterly worn out. Even for a young person, one night’s sleep wasn’t enough to fully recover.

Gu Yixing was sitting nearby reading a book. He called her over to eat breakfast.

He took a knife for himself and handed his sister a baseball bat before the two of them headed out together.

Perhaps because their mother was a detective novelist who spent her days writing about murders and crimes, she had always been highly conscious of safety and home security. Every room in the house contained hidden defensive weapons stored in fixed locations: steel rods, baseball bats, and even sharpened machetes, all carefully concealed.

The siblings retrieved their car from the garage and drove straight to EG Company.

EG Company’s office in the city was also located in the university district, less than ten kilometers from the Gu family’s home. Under normal traffic conditions, it would have taken about twelve minutes to get there.

But the moment the siblings reached the main roads, they realized they had seriously underestimated the situation.

The “disappearances” had happened so suddenly. At noon, countless drivers had simply vanished from their vehicles, causing their cars to lose control. Now wrecked and abandoned vehicles lay scattered across the roads in every direction. The major thoroughfares were completely impassable.

For the first kilometer or two, traffic conditions were still manageable, and there were quite a few pedestrians outside.

As Gu Yuhuan left the residential complex, she saw a woman burning spirit money on the street outside. The woman didn’t even look up when she heard the sound of their car. Her sobbing could be heard from far away.

When they passed the Baoshi Road Bridge, the road became completely blocked.

Just then, they witnessed someone jump from the bridge and plunge into the river below.

The atmosphere inside the car grew even heavier.

“We’re safer in the car,” Gu Yixing said. “At least we have a chunk of metal protecting us. I don’t think abandoning the vehicle and walking is a good idea. Let’s try taking a detour first. If that doesn’t work, we can get out and continue on foot.”

“Okay…” Gu Yuhuan replied.

In truth, she was even more anxious now than before they had left home. But she knew her brother was right.

People had been unable to cope with the sudden upheaval of the world. Some had chosen suicide without hesitation. If people no longer feared death, then it was entirely possible for others to take extreme actions as well. With the restraints of law and order suddenly gone, anything could happen.

What should have been a ten-minute drive ended up taking nearly an hour and a half.

When they finally arrived at the rear entrance of EG Company, they found the place under what looked like martial law.

Police cordons surrounded the entire office complex, and uniformed officers were constantly moving in and out.

“So the micro-brain really was developed by EG Company…” Gu Yuhuan murmured.

Given everything that had happened, it wasn’t surprising that EG Company was being treated this way.

Although Ximen Kang was a programmer at EG Company and had a reputation as a genius, he had only recently graduated from college. Gu Yuhuan didn’t believe he had access to the company’s core technologies yet. If that was the case, there was little reason for the authorities to keep him under strict control.

Even so, the siblings did not rashly cross the police line.

Naturally, EG Company’s office building wasn’t located in a remote area. In fact, the surrounding district was quite prosperous.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the brother and sister searched nearby stores for food with a long shelf life and loaded it into their car, all while keeping a close eye on the people entering and leaving EG Company.

Ding-dong.

The familiar notification sound of the micro-brain rang out.

Gu Yixing glanced at his watch.

It was exactly noon.

The familiar question panel appeared once again.

Gu Yuhuan’s third question was a multiple-choice question.

Question 3 (Single Choice): What was the name of Bluebeard’s first queen?

A. Rose
B. Jasmine
C. Bellflower
D. Peony
E. Ariel

(A friendly reminder from the Judge: This is a free point question. An incorrect answer will deduct one Little Red Flower. A correct answer will reward one Little Red Flower. If a player’s number of Little Red Flowers reaches zero, they will be forcibly entered into a “Revival Match” instance.)

Time Limit: 10 minutes

Gu Yuhuan narrowed her eyes.

If there was one thing that distinguished this question from the previous ones, it was that the question text was green rather than the bright red color used for all the others.

It was also the only question among the three that came with an explanation.

“Choose A.”

Congratulations! Your answer is correct.

You have been awarded one Little Red Flower.

Author’s Note:

—A hint from the First Queen!